Transfer



March 24,1931. s, SADTLER 1,797,997

TRANSFER Filed Sept. 24. 1928 \SOLUBLE DYE DESIGN \ADHESIVE Mac/caucus POWDER F 5' 5 Mug/5% ip 2 Ail/ESIVE ansz \sbwau: QYE DESfGN .Patented Mar. 24, 1931 HELENA S. SADTLER, F ERDENHEIM, PENNSYLVANIA TRANSFER Application filed September 24, 1928. Serial No. 308,137.

My invention relates to novel and useful transfer sheets for transferring designs to objects to be decorated and to a novel method of making'the same.

My invention consists in the steps, sequence and interrelations of steps, and conditions under which they are carried out in practicing the process, and in the novel and useful parts, instrumentalities, combinations and improve- [0 ments herein described.

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part hereinafter and in part will be obvious herefrom, or may be learned by practice with the invention, the

'5 same being realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities pointed out in the appended claims.

' My invention has for its object the provision of a new and useful transfer sheet and 0 method of making same, and is more particularly directed to that type of transfer in which the design to be transferred is formed of a soluble and transferable dyestuff.

Of the drawings:

5 Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan broken away in parts and illustrating a transfer sheet in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

9 Fig. 3 is a section of a modification.

My invention provides a transfer sheet that can be manufactured very economically and produces, even with unskilled manipulation, transferred designs equalling the finest 3 prints.

My invention also provides a transfer sheet from which designs can easily and readily be transferred to substantially any porous or absorbent material such as cloth, wood,

) wallboard, or other fibrous material as well as pottery tiles, etc., and the transfer sheets may be adhesively retained in position as long as desired, while the dye transfers.

y my present and improved transfer sheet,

5 the distortion of the design and difficulty of effecting an even contact of the transfer sheet with the object to be decorated are entirely avoided due to the provision of a thin even film of mucilaginous material over the entire face of the transfer sheet.

Referring now in detail to the present preferred embodiment of the improvedtransfer sheet of my invention and to the novel method of producing the same, a design in one or more colors is printed upon a base or carrier, such as a sheet of paper, the paper being preferably, tho-ugh not necessarily, of absorbent or porous material, such as mimeograph or other suitable paper. It is important in transfer sheets that the base or carrier be adapted to readily release the dye stuff or coloring matter comprising the design when the transferring takes place, said releasing of the coloring matter usually being effected by water applied either to the surface of the object to be decorated or to the back of the transfer sheet, as will hereinafter be more fully described. At the same time, the carrier sheet must be composed of a substance or substances which will readily receive the coloring matter of the design.

I have found in practice that a carrier, such as a paper base, which has been sized or printed upon its design-receiving surface with a water-soluble medium or composition and allowed to dry before receiving the design, becomes receptive to the dye-stuff solution, ink, or other coloring .matter used. Furthermore, a carrier so treated will release all or substantially all of the coloring matter when brought into contact with the water or solvent with which the object or surface to be marked or decorated is moistened or wetted. As exemplary of carriers so prepared, by using a very thin paper coated with a dextrine size, I find that the entire coloring matter, or all but the slightest suggestion of color, leaves the transfer paper when the latter is applied to the moistened'surface to be marked with the design. Another form of sized carrier comprises a porous or absorbent paper to which a padding or sizing of a water soluble gum or starch is applied, it being understood that in either case the sizing is permitted to dry prior to the printing of the design upon the carrier. It will be understood that this feature of the invention is not limited to any particular carrier or size, but is broadly embodied by any kind of paper or the like which will satisfactorily receive the ever, the drying and reception may be hastened if desired, as by the application of heat.

Subsequent to the thorough drying of the design impression, a coating of mucilaginous material is applied to the design-bearing surface of the base sheet in a thin and even layer covering substantially the entire imprinted surface of the sheet. The mucilaginous material used is preferably of a substance or substances which are substantially insoluble in cold water and adapted to swell in water so as to form an even adhesive surface over the imprinted surface. Among the substances which meet the hereinbefore mentioned requirements are certain colloidal gums, gum tragacanth and gum karaya being practically well adapted for the purposes of the invention.

The gum or other substance from which the mucilaginous coating is made is preliminarily treated with water .to cause the gum to swell, the moistened and swollen gum being then spread evenly over the entire designbearing surface of the sheet. The printed and coated sheets are then dried and the sheets are stacked.

A second or alternative method of preparing and applying the mucilaginous coating to the imprinted surface of the base sheet may be practiced as -follows:- I

The dry design-bearing surface of the base sheet is first given a coating with-,a thin coating of a light adhesive substandeadapted to form a thin adhesive size. A thin water solution of gum arabic or dextrine or other light adhesive may' be used to form the size, which is spread over the entire design-bearing surface of the sheet in a thin even layer. This size or coating may also consist of the colloidal substances described in connection with the coating desc ribed in the foregoing example, such as gum tragacanth or karaya, preliminarily swelled with water.

Immediately after coating the sheet with the size, or before the coating has dried, the wet coating is thinly and unlformly dusted with powdered gum tragacanth, gum karaya or other powdered mucilaginous colloidal material. The action of the powdered gum is to absorb the moisture from the wet coating of the gum arabic or the like whereby the'mucilaginous powder is swelled, while at the same time the size is rapidly and throughly dried. Thus the desired uniform mucilaginous coating provided by the invention is applied to the sheet in a rapid and color printing, it is advisable to delay the dusting operation until all the colors are dry, and then apply the mucilaginous coating either as a moist coating alone or withthe supplemental dusting. This method of treatment makes the process extremely practicable from a commercial standpoint, whereas the dusting of each color separately would be laborious and time consuming.

Referring now to the manner of using the transfer sheet of the invention, the sheet may be employed in any known or common transferring processes, whereby the design in soluble dye is transferred from the base sheet to the .object to be printed, such as cloth,

for obtaining printed effects, embroidery patterns, wall-board, wood and other porous materials capable of receiving and retaining the design.

If porous paper or other pprous material is used as the base material of the transfer sheet, the coated and printed face of the transfer sheet is applied to the article to be printed or decorated. The back or uncoated side er" the sheet is then moistened, as by sponging with a wet cloth or the like whereupon the soluble dye?" design soaks through the moistened and? swollen mucilaginous coatingto become aflixed to the object.

Another transferringmethod which may be used, and which is preferably employed with a transfer sheet having a non-porous base, comprises preliminarily moistening the article or surface to be decorated. The coated face of the transfer'sheet is then applied to the moistened su 'r -jfacefthe moisture on the surface serving to hold and'swell the coating and to draw the dye through to the object.

A third alternative transferring method comprises preliminarily moistening the back of the transfer sheet and then pressing the coated surface of the sheet into contact with the impression-receiving object with a hot iron or the like, this step serving to steam the dyes and set them in the object.

Irrespective of the transferring method employed, and irrespective of whether the base be of porous or non-porous material, it will be understood that the moisture on the sheet or object serves to swell the colloidal coating on the sheet, whereby the transfer sheet adheres to the object by virtue of its own mucilaginous properties. Due to the fact that the mucilaginous coating is continuous and uniform over the whole sheet, the sheet sticks very closely and uniformly to the surface of the object to be decorated, adapting itself closely to the shape of the object and, because of this uniformity of adhesion, the sheet does not wrinkle nor buckle when in contact with the object surface.

By virtue of the even and continuous layer or coating of mucilaginous gum, the soluble dye is prevented from bleeding or spreading during its transfer from the sheet to the object. Furthermore, after the design has been satisfactorily transferred from the transfer sheet to the object, the base sheet of paper or the like may be readily removed, whereupon the gum or mucilaginous film remains on the decorated object as a thin, uni form and transparent film.

The powdered form of coating is particularly advantageous in that with this form of transfer sheet a perfect transfer of the design can be obtained with cold water or 'without steaming of the transfer sheet.

The accompanying drawings diagrammatically illustrate a transfer in accordance with the present preferred embodiment of the invention, which preferably comprises a relatively porous base, such as paper, which may or may not be coated witha thin size, as desired, and on which is imprinted a marking composed principally of a soluble dye. According to the present embodiment, the imprinted base is coated witha thin layer of size or soluble'adhesive material,

and before the adhesive material has dried,

the entire surface of the transfer sheet is coated with a mu'cilaginous powder, such as gum tragacanth or karaya, which adheres to the coating of adhesive material.

The invention in its broader aspects is not.

limited to the specific processes, steps and constructions described but departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the accompanying claims without departing from the principles of the invention and.

withoutsacrificing its chief advantages.

What I claim is:'

'1. A transfer sheet including in combinaimprinted thereon, and a coating of mucilaginous material overlying the design-imprinted surface of the base and covering said surface substantially entirely.

2. A transfer sheet' including in combina tion a sized paper sheet having a design in soluble dye imprinted thereon, a sizing of adhesive material overlying said sheet and retaining a layer of powder, said powder comprising mucilaginous material and a substance adapted to react with the dye during the transferring operation.

3. A transfer sheet including in combination a base comprising a paper sheet having a water soluble size, a design imprinted thereon in soluble dye, and a coating of mucilaglnous material overlying the design-im printed surface of the base.

4. A transfer sheet including in combination a base having a design in soluble dye im-. printed thereon, and a coating of 1nucilaginous material overlying the design-imprinted surface of the base in a substantially continuous and uniform layer.

5. A method of producing a transfer sheet comprising imprinting a design in soluble dyes on a base, and substantially entirely covering the design-bearing surface of the base with a coating of mucilaginous material.

6. A method of producing a transfer sheet comprising imprinting a design in soluble plying mucilaginous material to the coated base. 4 V

9. A method of producing a transfer sheet comprising imprinting a design in soluble 'dyes on a base, covering the imprinted base with a thin, soluble size and thereafter applying powdered mucilaginous material to the coated base. 1

10. A transfer sheet including in combination a base bearing thereon a design printed with a thickened solution of soluble dye, and a substantially continuous film of mucilaginous, colloidal substance overlying the design-bearing surface of said base.

11. The process of making a transfer strip which includes printing a design with a thickened solution of dye on a base, drying the impression and then coating the design-bearing face of the base with a colloidal substance that swells in water to give an adhesive film.

12. A transfer sheet including in combination a base, a. design imprinted thereon in soluble dye, a sizing of adhesive lying over said sheet and retaining a layer of mueilaginous powder.

13. A method of producing a transfer sheet which comprises imprinting a design in soluble dye upon a carrier adapted to readily receive the dye and to substantially com pletely release said dye upon contact with water, drying the dye, and coating the designbearing surface of the carrier with a layer of mucilaginous material.

HELENA S. SADTLER. 

